Tenaro stood still, turning in place as he stared at the surrounding buildings.

  They looked completely fine. Unaffected by the magnitude of the earthquake.

  The earthquake has rattled the ground, shaken stone loose beneath his feet, and even some new cracks here and there. Yet the ruins around him stood as if nothing happened. No collapsed walls, no fallen roofs.

  Just silence.

  *Creepy…* Tenaro thought uncomfortably, *And what the hell was that explosion earlier??* He scratched the back of his head, glancing back at the building with the mural.

  *Might come back here…*

  His gaze drifted to the wall beside him, one granite block was slightly out of place. No cracks, not broken, not even a small scratch. It just looked like it shifted. It jutted out by a finger's width, like a piece of a puzzle nudged loose.

  *Wha..?* Tenaro stared at the block and stepped toward it.

  *What if I…*

  He lifted and pressed his right palm against the stone and pushed it into the direction it seemed to have been from. His hand shuddered as the cold from the block seeped into his skin. The surface was rough but oddly smooth under the moss.

  The stone shifted right in place. It didn't scrape. Not even a sign of resistance. It just slid in like it was waiting for help, settling back into place with a muted “thunk!”. Tenaro just froze, looking at the block then to his palm.

  “Woah…”

  He stepped back a few paces, his eyes tracing the wall. All the other stones still fit perfectly, each edge kissing each other with surgical precision.

  He looked up.

  At the top of the building, a small figure stood at the edge of the roof, staring down at him. A monkey. It crouched there, almost perfectly still, its dark eyes locked onto his.

  Curious.

  Assessing.

  Tenaro smirked and stared back, unblinking, treating it as a challenge. Neither moved. Then the monkey blinked and turned, vanishing over the edge.

  Tenaro softly chuckled. He exhaled and rolled his shoulders, *Yeah. It's what I thought.*

  He glanced back at walls, still astounded at their stubbornness to fall. He turned and started walking again, heading in the direction of the tall massive building he saw earlier.

  He saw multiple raids in between buildings leading to multiple directions. *Where do I even start?* he wondered, scratching his chest, frustrated.

  “Ugh.* He groaned. He shrugged and went in a random direction to the road on his left, weaving between stone paths hemmed in by towering structures.

  *Why are these buildings huge anyway?* He asked himself, the doorways looked too small on the buildings.

  A soft hiss slithered through the air, but he ignored it. Then suddenly, he smelled it. A sharp, sour, thick scent slapped his nostrils. His nose wrinkled, *Faeces?* He covered his nose, appalled.

  He turned a left corner, the stench grower stronger with every step. “Where the HELL is that coming from?!” he muttered, eyes watering.

  Broken walls appear ahead, some rubble on the road. Tenaro slowed, curiosity rising, then his eyes widened. Two buildings stood demolished on either side of the path, utterly destroyed, while the other structures around remained intact, opposite of each other.

  “Huh?” Tenaro stared at the two buildings, forgetting about the horrible smell instantly.

  He stepped into one of the ruins.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  This breath caught, startled.

  Behind the broken building, more buildings lay reduced to rubble. Behind THOSE, even more still, forming a single straight line of destruction, some of the rubble being taller than him.

  A perfect row.

  He turned slowly to see the other side of the path. Sure enough, the opposite ruin mirrored it. Another flawless line of demolished buildings stretching back into the city.

  Gaping, Tenaro sagged his shoulders, *...I'm not even surprised anymore.*

  Wind swept through the gap, stronger here without walls to block it, reminding him of the cold it bore with it. Tenaro hugged himself, flinching at the sudden cold, with his swords clanging together from the breeze.

  *Oh come on.* He thought bitterly, his jaw almost shuddering.

  Before he could turn the hide behind the protection of the walls, his nose caught the same horrendous smell. He leaned over a half-broken wall and immediately recoiled.

  A massive pile of poop sat below, stacking messily atop itself, flies going crazy over it. Tenaro covered his nose, *So that's it.* he thought.

  Mystery solved.

  He turned away fast, nose burning and hurried down the twisting roads before the smell could permanently scar his soul.

  To no one's surprise, the paths narrowed. Turned. Twisted. Every single corner revealed more buildings, like they were gatekeeping the center building. Suddenly, he felt a burst of wind blowing past him, coming from behind. He stumbled and looked back, *The hell?* he saw nothing but the path he was treading, *I must be going crazy.* he thought, clearly trying to comfort himself, but he shrugged it off. He turned and continued his search.

  *Where is it?* He wondered, annoyed. He could just feel the buildings laughing at him.

  Frustration gnawed at him.

  ***

  He rounded another corner, expecting to see more damn walls. But he stepped into an open space.

  Tenaro stopped short and gaped at what was ahead of him.

  Several paces ahead stood it. The tall, magnificent building.

  It towered over the rest, isolated yet surrounded, its presence overwhelming. There was a huge tree in his direction, growing beside the trench.

  The smaller buildings gave it space, like they were wary. There wasn't any breeze, the surrounding buildings shielding this tower-like structure from the outside cold.

  He started walking towards it, *Wasn't there water around it?*

  There was, but not like he expected.

  The wide stone trench he saw earlier encircled around the building, its walls sheer and clean. The tree nearby had its roots cracking the ground.

  Tenaro approached the edge and peered down. Water simmered far below, lower than it should be.

  *Weird.*

  He straightened and walked past the tree and walked around the trench, scanning for a bridge. Cracked stones crunched under his boots, and birds chipped loudly. Somewhere, he heard monkeys squabbling again.

  *Even now?*

  He completed the circle and stopped.

  No bridge.

  *Just wonderful.* He thought flatly.

  He scratched the back of his head and scanned the area, *What can I use…*

  That's when he realized. He remembered walking around the perimeter and saw three other trees along with the first one, that were evenly spaced around the building. Each one aligned almost perfectly with its sides.

  But no vines.

  *Of course.* He sighed.

  But an idea still sparked, *Hope this works.*

  He approached the nearest tree and untied the makeshift rope around his waist, freeing it from his swords. He put the rope in his mouth, ignoring the bitter taste of it again.

  He positioned himself carefully: tree, trench, building, all in a straight line.

  Tenaro stepped back, a sword in each hand, feeling the rough grip of the bandages on the hilts, and he shifted into stance.

  Feet spread. Left leg forward. Right leg braced.

  With swords raised over his right shoulder, one blade closer, the other angled outward. His torso twisted slightly.

  He closed his eyes, *Please work.*

  He inhaled.

  “HAA!!” He shouted through the rope between his jaws.

  He slashed, two identical air blades ripped forward, carving deep into the trunk with a thunderous “BANG!!”. The tree shuddered violently. Two white birds exploded from its branches, screeching into the sky.

  He lowered his swords and approached. The cuts were deep, but not fatal, but enough.

  He grabbed the rope from his mouth and tied it around the swords and secured them to his waist.

  He took a few paces back, stopped, and ran.

  And he kicked the tree.

  Pain shot up his leg, the tree shaking.

  He kicked again with the other leg.

  “Creeaakk”

  The tree tilted.

  Faster.

  Tenaro leapt, landing on the trunk as it fell, boots skidding as gravity dragged it toward the trench.

  He ran across the trunk, avoiding as many branches as he could.

  Almost there.

  Then, the fall slowed, until it eventually stopped.

  Tenaro grabbed a branch to gain balance and looked back. The roots were still anchored.

  *Guess I'm lucky.* Tenaro smirked.

  He looked back to the other side. Close enough.

  He carefully backed up, leaves slapping his face, wind blowing, almost making him off balance, “Damn leaves.” He muttered, too focused to think about the wind.

  When his feet found themselves, he took a deep breath and sprinted.

  He leaped, soaring through the air.

  His fingers caught the stone edge. And slipped.

  His eyes widened,

  *Shit.*

  He twisted midair, ripped his swords free, and stabbed downwards.

  Sparks burst. The stone didn't yield, it was too hard.

  Panicked, he twisted again and braced himself for the water.

  He plunged into the water with a splash, and the cold swallowed him whole. He held his breath, ears roaring, body twisting and vision blurring beneath the surface as he tried to orient himself, his two swords weighing him down.

  *Why was the edge wet??* he wondered when he tried grabbing the stone edge.

  He glanced up, and his eyes widened in pure horror,

  *huh?!*

  The tree was plunging straight down towards him.

  Everything slowed.